This invention relates to an improved process for preparing certain aza cyclohexapeptides of the kind disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,804 which issued Jan. 3, 1995. Previously, the process to synthesize these compounds required five steps and was not significantly stereoselective or high yielding. Known reductions of primary amides, such as hydrogenation, metal hydride and electrochemical reduction, require forcing conditions incompatible with the other amides and functional groups in the pneumocandin series. These reductions suffer from lack of chemoselectivity among differently substituted amides. The new process described herein eliminates two steps and results in higher yields and easier synthesis of analogs of the compounds.